AUSTIN - For men who eat and sleep at their desks, daydream about disguising corner blitzes and spend more time than critics in Cannes watching film, relationships work differently. There is little time for small-talk, and even less for courtship.

On Christmas Day 2000, Muschamp - then an assistant at Valdosta State - called some friends on the LSU staff and asked if he might be able to attend a practice in Atlanta, where he was visiting family and the Tigers were preparing for the Peach Bowl.

On the sideline during the workout, Saban - then in his first year as LSU's head coach - shook Muschamp's hand, then casually asked him what he thought about things like zone coverage, stunts and 3-technique defensive tackles. It didn't take an eHarmony expert to see a connection had been made.

"We just kind of hit it off," Muschamp said.

Nine years later, Muschamp and Saban are about to meet again, albeit with significantly less idea-sharing. Muschamp - who worked on Saban's staff for five years with LSU and the Miami Dolphins - is the defensive coordinator for No. 2 Texas, which will face Saban and top-ranked Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif.

Muschamp - who joked last week that "there's going to be a lot of wasted ink on this situation" - has said repeatedly he's learned more from Saban than anyone in football. With Alabama and UT ranking among the nation's top three in total defense, that teacher-versus-pupil dynamic figures to be one of the dominant themes of the championship game.

"We believe in a lot of the same things," Muschamp said.

Chief among those beliefs are pressure and variety. Not only are the defenses coached by Saban and Muschamp known as the most aggressive in the country, they're also some of the most complex.

Before the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York earlier this month, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said that in watching a season full of Alabama game tapes, the Crimson Tide never ran the same blitz in the same situation more than twice. UT offensive coordinator Greg Davis said his list of Alabama blitzes is almost endless. The Longhorns' defensive playbook isn't quite as thick as Alabama's, but it's close.

Assembling those playbooks takes time, and that's something Saban and Muschamp have in common. At various times in recent years, Saban has been discussed as a tough taskmaster to work for. Muschamp - UT's head coach designate, who will take over the program when Mack Brown retires - never saw it that way.

"If you didn't want to work, it wasn't a good place to be," said Muschamp, who also was Auburn's defensive coordinator before coming to UT. "I enjoyed work."

Muschamp's relentless energy has already become legendary stuff at UT, where even his players admit they can find it tough to keep up with him. Linebacker Keenan Robinson said last week he challenges himself to get to UT's facility before Muschamp or to stay later than his coach, but every time he comes or goes, Muschamp's white truck is in the parking lot.

Now Playing:

"He's just as excited at six in the morning as he is on Saturday night," defensive end Sergio Kindle said.